9 Ups & 9 Downs For AEW In 2022

7. Popularity Decline

CM Punk Max Caster
AEW

This is the most significant critique of AEW's 2022: after threatening to compete with WWE amid the hype generated by All Out '21, the promotion actually fell further behind a year later.

Was the failure noble?

Perhaps. CM Punk's eventual triumph meant so much more than it would have, had he not struggled to overcome greener and less talented performers to win the big one. Kenny Omega returned and only looked broken. The compression shirt, pale, untanned body and the genius of worked Kinesio tape all informed the awesome reveal of his Dominion 2018 body at All Out, but this bold sports-oriented story didn't land in the ratings, much like Punk's slow-born ring rust arc, because wrestling fans have been condition since 1993 that all-star action every week is the standard. Khan can't re-train patience within the audience.

TV ratings are more impressive than the bad faith actors suggest - just this week, AEW resolved the annual aberration of Thanksgiving Eve by scoring a remarkable 0.32 18-49 on what is traditionally a dismal night for cable viewership - but the slow-burn patience approach has not connected elsewhere. It isn't unusual for AEW to lose a third or even half of the gates when returning to an oversaturated market. PPV buy amounts peaked with Revolution and have steadily declined since. The atmosphere in too many markets is flat. The future-obsessed AEW didn't do enough to encourage fans to luxuriate in and part with their cash in the present.

On occasion, the execution of those long, long-term stories probably wasn't worth the investment...

Advertisement
In this post: 
AEW MJF
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!